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A prominent Reform UK councillor who faces allegations of bullying and who was arrested in Basildon Council offices last year – with no further action taken – following a string of complaints, has been appointed cabinet member for Special Educational Needs on England’s second largest local authority.
Cllr Sam Journet, the Reform group leader in Basildon, routinely wears camera-enabled glasses that he says are both on “prescription” and “for protection”. He was re-elected to Basildon council earlier this month, while also being elected to the county-level Essex council – where Reform took control.
Last month Byline Times revealed that Journet, Reform UK’s leader in Basildon, has faced a barrage of formal complaints after regularly wearing Meta-style camera glasses during council meetings and whilst doorknocking local residents, in a move described as intimidating by multiple local sources.
In April, then-Reform councillor Sarah Shields claimed Cllr Journet had been responsible for “bullying” her over a “period of months”. She alleged he referred to her as “thick” because she is dyslexic. She subsequently quit the Reform group.
Journet was also asked to apologise and undergo council training following a separate incident in which he posted footage on social media of a young man with disabilities in Basildon Town centre in an alleged attempt to shame him. He does not appear to have apologised, and has not undergone the training.
Despite this, the new Reform administration in Essex has nominated Journet as Cabinet Member for Education, Special Educational Needs and Skills.
Cllr Journet is also set to be elected Mayor of Basildon at the council’s AGM on Thursday 21 May, in what is understood to be part of a deal with the ruling Conservatives to oust Labour from the local authority.
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He was arrested last September in Basildon council offices, on suspicion of stalking, harassment and a public order offence after facing complaints from council staff and elected officials about his conduct. In November, Essex Police announced there would be no further action taken against him, but this outlet learnt that bail conditions were imposed (and later extended) in the aftermath to ensure he did not contact two councillors allegedly targeted. No bail conditions remain.
This outlet has also seen footage shared by Cllr Journet praising convicted hate-speech offender Lucy Connolly. Connolly was sentenced to 31 months in October 2024 for inciting racial hatred by publishing threatening or abusive material on X following the Southport attacks. She pleaded guilty. Her appeal was dismissed in May 2025, and she was released on licence in August 2025.
Speaking at a Reform event with Connolly in November last year, Cllr Journet appears to tell the former convict: “You are an incredible woman…[to the audience] what people like Lucy have gone through are far, far greater than [my] 20 hours in the cell. If I’m going to be honest, I just don’t think I would have been able to have gone through what you went through.”
He also appears to tell Connolly: “There needs to be a lot of appreciation for what you did go through, you’ve known it was completely horrendous and completely wrong.” In an expletive-laden post following the Southport murders, Connolly had tweeted encouraging people to set fire to hotels housing asylum seekers.
Reform UK’s Basildon Leader Accused of Bullying After Filming Council Staff and Residents With Meta-Style Smart Glasses
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Essex Council’s Response
Asked what checks Essex County Council undertook before Journet was nominated as cabinet lead for education and SEND provision, a spokesperson said: “Cabinet Member appointments are political decisions, taken by the leaders of the administration. Council officers have no role.”
This outlet also asked if Essex County Council had requested information on the multiple recent complaints at Basildon Borough Council levelled against Cllr Journet. The spokesperson said: “Essex County Council would have no reason to seek views from another authority on an appointment which is out of its control. Residents expressing opinions relating to appointments and responsibilities is only to be expected.”
Asked what relevant experience or qualifications in education or SEND Cllr Journet brings to the role, they added: “Councillors are appointed to Executive roles for any number of reasons. There is no requirement to be an expert in the portfolio subject matter, in Essex or anywhere else in government, including at national level. These judgements are made by the council’s political leadership, not officers.”
Responding to concerns from residents regarding Cllr Journet’s appointment, the Essex County Council spokesperson added: “SEND is one of the council’s main priorities, in particular, making progress in reducing the number of cases awaiting assessment. Work has been underway on this for more than a year, and the council’s new administration will make [an] announcement regarding the future direction of this work in due course.
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“All Cabinet Members will be getting up to speed with their portfolios and will be meeting with key organisations and partners, along with hearing from residents about their experiences as recipients of council services.”
An Ofsted and CQC inspection of Essex County Council’s SEND provision, published today following inquiries, found: “The local area partnership’s arrangements lead to inconsistent experiences and outcomes for children and young people with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The local area partnership must work jointly to make improvements.”
The inspectors also found that ‘many children and young people wait lengthy periods for an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or autism assessment’ in Essex, singling out neurodevelopmental assessment waiting times as a formal area for improvement. Reform UK leaders Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have both publicly suggested that ADHD and autism are over-diagnosed.
On whether Essex County Council has any policy or guidance on Cllr Journet potentially using camera-enabled glasses in settings involving children and vulnerable adults, or in engagements with SEND families, the spokesperson told Byline Times: “Cllr Journet is required to abide by the Council’s Code of Conduct, as are all Essex County Council Members. He is also required to abide by the GDPR.”
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The Basildon Mayoralty
Following this month’s local elections, Reform UK now holds 12 council seats in Basildon, the same as Labour. Elections are done in thirds in Basildon, meaning Reform could not sweep the board and appear to be making deals with the Conservatives.
Reform UK and Sam Journet have consistently refused to comment on Byline Times‘ revelations.
On Tuesday, Basildon’s former Labour council leader, Cllr Gavin Callaghan, wrote to the council’s CEO noting that the Standards Committee issued, in his words, a “strong reprimand” over Journet’s conduct towards a disabled man in the town centre, where he is accused of repeatedly branding him a “terrorist”, and shaming him on social media as an example of “Broken Britain” in August last year. After Byline Times approached Cllr Journet for comment on this piece, the video appeared to have been deleted.
Cllr Callaghan’s letter also raised Cllr Journet’s police arrest over alleged harassment in council offices last year, which saw him face extended bail terms to not contact two councillors, but which ultimately resulted in no further action.
It is the use of Meta-style smart glasses to record people without their consent which concerns opposition figures, given that Cllr Journet is likely to be going into schools, as well as hospitals and a range of sensitive events if he is given the mayoralty.
Cllr Callaghan also claims in his letter that Cllr Journet is “regarded by many residents and councillors as overtly racist, homophobic, and misogynistic”.
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The announcement of Journet’s appointment to Essex council’s cabinet was met with hundreds of reactions on Facebook.
Local Justin Brierley, who says he has over a decade of experience managing local authority SEND teams, wrote that Cllr Journet’s appointment was “absolutely shocking” and “wholly inappropriate”, and claimed the Reform councillor has “form for bullying and insulting people with SEND”.
Another reader issued a public invitation to Journet to meet SEND parents, and expressed anger that he had not yet responded.
But Reform UK Basildon and Billericay branch responded by praising Cllr Journet, claiming he himself is “a SEND Councillor”, as he is understood to have ADHD and autism.
A confidence-and-supply deal in Basildon is expected to see Conservatives take the cabinet, Reform take committee chair posts, Journet becoming Mayor, and Conservative councillor Andy Barnes becoming leader.
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The Allowances Pledge
Cllr Journet publicly pledged on 13 July 2025, four days before he was first elected, that if voted in he would not ‘take a penny’ of his councillor pay, and that ‘every month, my councillor pay goes straight to local good causes for the youth and ignored, voted on by the people of St. Martins, Basildon’. He repeated the pledge to Essex Live on 18 July 2025: ‘I will be donating my councillor allowance each month to good causes in Basildon as chosen by the local residents.’
Byline Times has seen no evidence the pledge has been honoured or otherwise. Basildon Borough Council records show he has been paid nearly £4,000 in allowances since being elected. Cllr Journet did not respond to a request to detail any donations made.
Asked whether Essex County Council knew whether Cllr Journet would be donating his cabinet member allowances, the local authority spokesperson said: “The allowance payable to councillors is published on our website, in the constitution. What Cllr Journet does with his allowance is not a matter for Essex County Council.”
Responding to questions about Cllr Journet’s likely appointment as Mayor of Basildon, a Basildon Borough Council spokesperson said: “The Borough Council selects one of its members to serve in the Office of Mayor of Basildon each year. It is a largely ceremonial role, with the office holder being the First Citizen of the Borough. The council declines to comment further in relation to potential candidates – this is a political appointment.”
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